DavidB-AU

There was a lot of crossover in the "Oxbridge Mafia" actors and writers in shows that started with Beyond The Fringe and ended with The Goodies. They usually fed off each other and versions of sketches and songs appeared in several shows. Nobody could accuse any of them of plagiarism. Maybe recycling. The Class Sketch, originally from The Frost Report, was reworked several times in The Two Ronnies and finally in the BBC Millennium programme. Several sketches in How to Irritate People was reworked or even performed almost unchanged by Monty Python. If you read the excellent book From Fringe to Flying Circus by Roger Wilmut you'll see just how much crossover there was. Cheers David

Rejected is probably too strong, it simply couldn't be accepted. There wasn't a group capable of preserving it at the time, plus the expense of getting it to Australia. 60013 Dominion of New Zealand was offered to New Zealand at the same time but the offer couldn't be accepted for the same reason. However they did accept one of the name plates. It was on display at New Zealand House in London for many years and eventually passed to the New Zealand Railways Department. It is now on the wall outside the KiwiRail offices at Wellington railway station. Cheers David

Also from THNSW... 3203 is to go to Cooma for static display. 3609 is to go to Junee for static display. 3616 (which has a Giesl ejector) is having asbestos removed in preparation for restoration to main line service. 3642 is to be retired to static display after Maitland. It has too many problems to attempt an overhaul. Cheers David

Unfortunately the only way to see it from a train these days to get the XPT from Brisbane at stupid o'clock. Cheers David

A cab view of the Cougal Spiral on the NSW/Qld border. At 46 seconds in, that's the rear of the same train.

On the subject of similar arrangements, Baker Street (Metropolitan line) could be operated in a similar way either as a terminus or with the through lines to another traverser. The convenient tunnels at both ends could make for a very compact layout. Cheers David

From the official Commonwealth Games programme. Oops!

CJF designed Minories to be modular and extensible. Reproductions of the original drawings are here and I have adapted one to show how the platform can be extended. It can be operated as a short layout at home and lengthened if taken to a public display. Cheers David

Talk about a motley scratch set. https://www.flickr.com/photos/36034969@N08/4677824651/ Cheers David

A report into options for a rail link from Finnish Lapland to the Arctic Ocean has been published by Finland’s Ministry of Transport & Communications. This concludes that a 465 km route from Rovaniemi via Sodankylä to Kirkenes in Norway would be the best option. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/infrastructure/single-view/view/finland-arctic-ocean-rail-route-proposed.html

TransPennine Express Mk 5As begin testing at Velim https://www.railjournal.com/index.php/rolling-stock/transpennine-express-mk-5as-begin-testing-at-velim.html

The QJs in the USA occasionally haul revenue freight. Cheers David

Stephen Hawking’s ashes to be interred next to Sir Isaac Newton in Westminster Abbey https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/03/20/stephen-hawkings-ashes-interred-next-sir-isaac-newton-westminster/

That was at an H. R. Giger exhibition in Spain in (I think) 2009. Cheers David

A candidate for "headline of the year"? http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-16/giant-rubber-duck-missing-off-the-west-australian-coast/9557876

Except they land you in "Moscow South" aka Bucharest. Cheers David

These are real. https://i.imgur.com/GO4B1YY.jpg https://i.imgur.com/AQSosIc.jpg Cheers David

Been saving this for today, the Ides of March.

RAILROAD Development Corporation (RDC) has developed plans to take a Vivarail D-Train from Britain to the United States to demonstrate how the rebuilt former London Underground (LU) trains could provide a low-cost rolling stock option for new passenger services. https://www.railjournal.com/index.php/north-america/vivarail-d-train-to-be-tested-in-us-cities.html (Not sure if LU stock meets American crashworthiness requirements. Maybe rebuild New York subway R46 stock?)

He gave us laughs as well as knowledge. David Walliams tweeted this.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43396008 Very sad news, but considering he wasn't expected to live past his mid 20s he's had a remarkable life and career.